MERCHANT FOCUS: LAKER LAKER I
f you’re selling materials to reduce energy and trying to encourage your customers to build more sustainably, then you should be prepared to do likewise yourself. That’s the theory that Steve Robinson, managing director of Crawley-based Laker Builders Merchant, is pushing. The company is currently revamping its depots, with energy- saving lighting, 3 phase upgrades, R32 (green gas) air-source heat pumps plus a full fleet of electric forklift trucks, having drastically improved the overall EPC of their buildings. Their aim is to be a more sustainable business, who pushes hard to reduce their carbon footprint as well as leading by example for their industry. “It’s not just about being seen to be green”, Robinson explains. “The decisions we’ve made as we’ve progressed are really important to us, so its now a mission to fulfil our green ambitions, but it’s also important that we lead the charge. Just because we are a smaller company, doesn’t mean we should sit on our hands.” The green journey started with the office space in each branch, Robinson says. “Lighting, heating, and insulation were key to making a comfortable environment, where we are able to attract the right management team,
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able to assist with expanding the business.” The company was formed by Ady Laker in 2010, and it evolved from a warehouse and trade counter in Lingfield, Surrey. There are now three branches in Cranleigh, Pulborough and Gatwick, which is also the head office, as well as a branch in its own right. Robinson came on board in 2019 as managing director having had experience in running a variety of businesses across many industries, although none of them a builder’s merchant. “Ady knew that he wanted to grow the business, and that’s one of the areas he knew I have expertise in. I have a different viewpoint from most professionals within this industry, partly coming from my technology background. Having telecoms, datacentres, and IT businesses, along with my thought process and values as an environmentalist are key. While I can hold my own on the financial side, it’s more about my ability to think differently as an intentional futurist .”
There were many challenges, he says. “Initially rebranding, we now trade as Laker Builders Merchant rather than Laker Building and Fencing Supplies Limited which is too much of a mouthful. We rebranded all branches plus
FLIES TO THE FUTURE
Fiona Russell-Horne meets an independent builder’s merchant that’s preparing itself for take-off to meet future challenges.
our fleet of vehicles. Next we slowly started the environmental works, simple changes such as introducing green bins preventing 29 tonnes per annum of cardboard and plastic ending up in landfill. Also massive EPC changes including everything from taking out the old-fashioned lighting in our warehouses to fully insulating and building new shops and offices and installing efficient heating and lighting.”
Robinson’s experience in other industries came in handy in the run-up to the first Covid lockdown in 2020, he says. “Prior to Covid, we had a Laker website without e-commerce. So, I called upon the expertise of the developers from my Telecoms Company, seconding a team to concentrate on getting us an ecommerce site up and running fast. It worked, in the first week of the Covid lockdown, we didn’t know what we were supposed to be doing, like everyone in the building industry, we awaited advice from Government and the Builders Merchant Federation. So, we shut the gates of all branches, so we didn’t have inbound customers and moved to an online only supply with paperless delivery. Once we knew we could open – with certain precautions such as sanitisers, screens, traffic light systems and distance markers, we did. However, having set the ecommerce site up, we were able to continue trading despite being shut physically. We probably wouldn’t still be here if we hadn’t got that right.” As Covid accelerated the take-up of online ordering for merchants moved from traditional trade customers to homeowners, this assisted the decision to look at other ways of modernising the customer experience. Robinson says: “Today, it’s no longer acceptable to operate a non-retail friendly old-style merchant. You must make your business more accessible to everyone. So, we have continued to focus on initiatives such as QR codes on stock bins and product, rather than price tags. Customers post C-19, now understand that they can walk around a shop and zap the QR code with a
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net April 2022
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